
^ 



t 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap.. Copyright No... 

Shelf. T3_jC I 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



LETTERING 



FOR 



Draftsmen, Engineers and Students 



A PRACTICAL SYSTEM 
OF FREEHAND LETTERING FOR WORKING DRAWINGS. 



/" 



Y 



CHAS. W. REINHARDT, 

Chbef Deaftsman, Engineeeing News. 



TlillllD T EC O XT S -A. 3SI ID 



D 



New York : 
VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY, 

18 9 7. 

c^ 




TWO COPIES RECEIVED 



Copyright, 1895. 
D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY. 



Copyright, 1897. 
D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY. 







PLATE X. 
Cross Section. Millimeters. 



I> R E F^ C E . 

In looking over the books on lettering, which have come under the writer's notice, he has found, that while 
doing full justice to the piinciple of ornamentation and the theories governing the shaping of each letter, no author 
has as yet attempted to treat lettering from a purely practical point of view. The need of a practical work on lettering, 
however, has been and is daQy experienced by many draftsmen, and in the following pages the writer has endeavored to 
set forth the proper methods of forming purely free-hand lettering in a simple, easily acquired way, giving, at the same 
time, the proper safeguards against the errors most commonly committed. The letters exhibited are actual free-hand 
work and can readily be copied. In this respect the writer has made a radical departure from works of a similar charac- 
ter which generally give ornate, carefully engraved alphabets, being of little more use to the average draftsman than 
ordinaiy piinted type, i. e,, they can only be copied with a great sacrifice of time and patience. The whole system out- 
lined is the result of the writer's experience during years of practice on the staff of a leading technical journal and is in- 
tended to be a thoroughly practical guide for doing the best class of work in the shortest possible time. 

Brooklyn, September, 1895. 

CHAS. W. KEINHAEDT. 

c 

i 



PREFACE TO THIRD EDITIOTT. , 

The encouraging reception given to the first two editions of this book has convinced the writer of the practical 
iisefiiluess of the system of lettering which he advocates, and has induced him to add to the third edition material which 
tends to enlarge the scope of the book, making it more complete in every respect. 

The subject of lettering on working drawings has been taken up more in detail, and the new chapter devoted to let- 
tering for the pui-poses of photo-reproduction will be found interesting and useful by many readers. Besides the 
extension of the text some nine illustrations and one full page plate have also been added, thus considerably enlarging the 
work, which, it is hoped, will contiuue to prove a desirable hand-book to those wishing to acquire the art of fi-eehand 

lettering in a simple and rational way. 

C. W. R. 



INCLINED LETTERING. 



TN the following system of lettering no attempt has 
been made to imitate any special form of printed 
alphabet, and for all ornate and elaborate lettering the 
draftsman is referred to some one of the many published 
collections of this character. What is here intended is 
to illustrate and describe a type of lettering that looks 
well upon working drawings ; is reduced to its simplest 
form ; one that is rapidly made and is clear and distinct 
under almost any reduction by photography. It is, in 
fact, especially designed for photo-reproduction. With 
the purpose of fairly treating the subject, the lettering 
here illustrated has been reproduced without any attempt 
at touching up or cleaning ; it is actual freehand work, 
such as should be used in general practice. 

The ordinary slanting and, further on, the upright 
lettering are described in a somewhat detailed manner, 
as when the draftsman once becomes proficient in form- 



ing these two types properly, it will then be a very easy 
matter for him to form also the more ornamental letters 
satisfactory. The first requisite is to produce sharp, 
clean corners and bold lines of uniform strength, and 
this is especially necessary in work for photo-reproduc- 
tion, as usually such apparently unimportant things as 
filled -in corners and uneven lines are greatly exaggerated 
on the plate. In Fig. i the correct and incorrect ways 
of doing this are shown. It will be well at first, for the 
purpose of obtaining clean corners, to resort to the 

One Stroke Lettennq f '*;"= °' '^'«''"7 '"™.° 

Incorrect. -' the Imes outwards at their 

One Stroke Lettennq e^^^- ^^ exhibited on the 

^"'-''^'f- third line of Fig. i . For 

One Stroke Lettering very large letters the writer 

Fig. 1 finds a "ball-point" pen 

(Leonhardt's 5i6 F.) most satisfactory; for medium sized 



letters, not less than 2 millimeters high, he uses Soen- 
necken's No. 108 or 208, and for. small-sized letters, 
Gillott's No. 303, or Blanzy, Poure & Co.'s crow quill 
pen. All of these pens should be '' broken-in " somewhat 
before being applied to lettering; they should also be 
frequently cleaned when using waterproof ink, especially 
the " Soennecken " pens. The nibs of the pen should, 
while doing this, be worked back and forth gently 
against a soft rag, Avhich process will cause the 
dried-up particles of the ink to drop out from between 
them. 

As to the type of lettering to be employed, the 
slanting letter is Avell adapted to descriptive matter, 
dimensions, etc., while the upright letter will contrast 
well with the former tj'pe used as reference letters or 
sub-captions. A uniform pressure should be brought to 
bear upon the pen — a trick only acquired by practice. 
The pen should be held pointed forward, as in ordinary 
writing, and not sideways, as in "round writing." In 
lettering on tracing linen a sheet of black cross-section 
paper divided to millimeters, such as given on detached 
plate (X.), accompanying this book, will be found useful 
for indicating the proper spacing, slant, etc. On drawing 



;<^i 



paper, pencil guiding-lines will be indispensable to the 
beginner. 

A slope of I to 2^4. is sufficient for the stems or 
down-strokes of the letters, and ordinarily an angle of 
45° with the horizontal will suffice for the up-strokes and 
the axes of ellipses, excepting that of the letter " o." 
The latter angle will have to be increased, of course, 
when the lettering is compressed, as shown in Fig. 2. 
In lower case letters, like "b" or "p," with parts extend- 
ing above or below the 
main body of the letter, 
the length of these parts 
should be about 2-5 the 
total height ; the body of 
the letter representing 3 
parts of the total height. 
The exception is the lower case " t," Avhich is one 
part less in total height than "b" or " h," for 
example. In the illustrations following the incor- 
rect forms of letters, as being constantly observed 
by the writer, are shown in brackets, and the 
correct method of forming each letter is shown 
beneath. 



^M 



^tdJ^^j4Uj f ff 



^ m^/jrm^ 



Fig, 2. 



Lower Case Letters. 



^ 



^ 



^^ 



HU 



The letters " n " and " m," Fig. 3, should be made 

with almost sharp upper 

corners ; " u " is best 

formed by three strokes, 

as in this "way parallel 

positions are secured for Fig. 3. 

the straight lines, which should be made first, and these 

can be then joined by a lower curve. In forming the 

letter " v," Fig. 4, make the first stroke nearly vertical, 

and the second at an anofle of 
about 45° with the horizontal. 
The common error in making- 
this letter lies in curvingf the two 
lines and giving the letter the 
The letter " w " is formed on the 



-V (Y) W ^ ^ 



^^ 



^^ 



Fig. 4. 
appearance of a "y. 
same principle as the " v." In putting in the short hori- 
zontal cross-line of the 
"t/' Fig. 5, great care 
should be taken to use pj™ 5^ 

very little pressure upon the pen, as otherwise the ink 



will spread at the intersection of the two lines and make 
clean corners impossible. The second part of the 
letter "r" should be purely an up-stroke, slightl}- 
curved at its end. In making the letter " f," start with 
a curve extending down about one space ; the "f " shown 
in brackets would come out with a heav}' black knob 

at top in any considerable re- 



hfh) id) / (. }j . . ^. : : -A A 

u '\y / auction, ihe rule laid down 



Fig. 6. for forming the " n" may also 

be applied to the letter "h," Fig. 6, and the down-stroke 
for the " j " is practically the same as for the " f " revers- 
ed. Make bold, oblong clots over the "i " and "j." 

The third stroke of the letter " k," Fig. 7, should be 
vertical and begin at about the / /. ,1, 
middle of the second stroke. In ~^ ^'^^^ ^ '^ ' '^' ^^^ 
constructing the letter " x,'' care Fig. 7. 

should be taken to have the first stroke either verti- 
cal or leaning slightly backwards, and the second stroke 
ought to cross the first a little above its centre ; in order 
to produce a clean intersection it may be well to make 




the latter stroke in two parts. The letter " y," 
Fig. 8, should be drawn on the lines of the " v," and 

from the point of the angle 
the tail should be drawn 
p- g in exact line with the 

upper down-stroke, terminating, if desired, in a slight 
curve to the left, to avoid the little blot of ink which 
would otherwise form at the bottom of the stroke. 
In this letter the second stroke may be modified as 
shown. The "z" is best drawn in one stroke,, stop- 
ping the pen every time before changing direction. The 
letter " o," Fig. 9, is produced by two curved strokes, 
with their ends sufficiently bent, forming a perfect ellipse, 
the axis of which lies in the direction of the down-stroke. 
The joining of these two curves, in this and similar let- 
ters, can be effected very neatly after a little practice. 

The ovals of the following letters should be made 
somewhat narrower at the top than at the bottom, for 
obvious reasons ; and especial care must be taken to 
have the axis of these ovals lie at an angle of 45° with 
the horizontal. For the purpose of increasing the width 
of the enclosed space at the bottom of the down-stroke 
and the oval, the right-hand curve should be somewhat 



W^ 



w^ 



^^ 



^ 



m 



flatter than the opposite one. For the advantages of 
so doing see Fig. 9. In these letters the down-stroke 
should be at ex- 
actly the proper 
angle, rather in- 
creasing this 
angle at the be- Fig- 9. 

ginning, for the learner almost invariably makes the mis- 
take of drawing this stroke too slanting. To furtherguard 
against this error, the beginner may slightly curve the 
end of the down-stroke towards the left, thus widening 
the angle at the bottom of the " a " and " d," and the down- 
stroke of the " g " should be made as long as possible in its 
straight part by turning very short with the lower left- 
hand curve. The letters " p " and "b," Fig. 10, should 

be shaped exactly as in- 
verted letters " d " and 
" q." With practice 
these letters can also 
Fig. 10. be made to look well by 

using the oval of the letter " o." 

The letter " c," Fig. 11, is formed with one stroke, 
care being taken to have its general direction parallel to 



^mm 



M p^ 



m 



£'-(c} .^ fej ^ $^ fjj 



4C i(-^ 



-^T^ 



Fig. 11. 



the down-stroke. The " e " is commenced in the same 
way, and the upper loop is formed by a second stroke 

with the axis of the loop 

again at an angle of 45°. 

The beginning- of the 

o o 

" s " is a very short curve 
from left to right at its 
apex ; the rest is carefully joined on, turned down into 
a neat ogee curve and finished by a little crook upwards. 
The middle part of this letter should be nearly horizontal. 
If a very narrow letter is to be produced, it may be 
constructed with one stroke and a flatter curve, making 
the upper curve somewhat shorter than the lower one. 
In the ordinary letter a first separate stroke at the top is 



made necessary by the fact, that while turning in a hori- 
zontal direction from right to left and then descending 
into the ogee curve, the pen will either clog up and not 
give the required strength of line at one stroke or other- 
wise will in turning detach minute particles of paper or 
tracing-cloth satuated with ink and deposit them at the 
side of the stroke, necessitating erasures. The method 
outlined (employing two strokes) is therefore by far the 
simplest and quickest way of producing a clean letter, as 
experience will show. It will at first be a somewhat 
difficult matter to the beginner to lay the main axis of 
this letter parallel with the down-stroke, but this is 
nevertheless an essential point and should not be lost 
sight of 



Capital Letters. 



As in the rule laid down for the lower case letters, 
the capital letters will generally be five spaces high. 
Sharply defined clean corners are again necessary, and 
to secure this the beginner may find it advantageous to 
curve the upper and lower ends of the down-strokes a 
little outwards. 



The letter "A," Fig. 12, should be made in three 
strokes, with the second 
almost vertical. The cross- 
stroke should be placed low 
— about the middle of the Fi^. 1 2. 

second space from the bottom. The short third 







stroke of the " E " should be sHghtly above the center 
of the letter, and should not be too short. The two 
down-strokes of the letter " H," Fig. 13, should be ex- 
actly parallel, and the horizontal stroke should be made 
as directed for the third stroke of the " E." If the capi- 
tal " I " is to be followed by a lower case "1," two short 
horizontal strokes of even length and projection may be 

added to the top and 
bottom. The second 
stroke of the letter 
Fig. 13. "K" should join the 

first at the top of the second space from the bottom, and 
the third stroke should join the second nearly one space 
higher up. The letter " L" can easily be made with one 
stroke, analoofous to the forming of the same stroke of 
the letter " E." 

The "J," Fig. 14, is commenced as a perfectly 
straight down-stroke to the top of the lower space ; then 
it turns to the left in . , . ^^ ,. , 

^ 



a gentle curve, tangent 
to the base line, and 
finally rises to the top 
of the first space. The " M " is made with four separ- found easier, this 




Fig. 1 4. 



ate strokes, putting in the two parallel lines first; the two 
other strokes should join at the top of the first space. If 
desired, this letter may be made slightly wider at the 
bottom than at the top. The letter " N " is also formed 
by drawing the two parallel strokes first. The horizon- 
tal stroke of the " T " should be neatly balanced on top 
of the down- stroke, and if it is not perfectly straight, as 
often is the case, a hardly noticeable crook downwards 

. , at both ends will 

improve it. 

The letters 
shown in Fiof- i5 
are to be con- 
structed precisely upon the lines laid down for the cor- 
responding lower case letters, with the exception that 
they should be a trifle narrower in proportion. The " Y" 
is formed with two strokes without any lower crook to 
the left ; the " Z" is made in one stroke, with the axis 
of the letter in 



the direction 
of the down- 
stroke. If 




Fig. 15. 



^H 'M' 4^i=-^Ut-^%i^ 



Fig. 6 
Z " can be made with three strokes. 



10 



can eacli 



With practice the letters "P," "B" and "D 
be formed with two strokes, with the curves terminating- 
as shown. In forming the two curves of the letter " B," 
begin at the top, and after joining the stem, return exactly 
on the horizontal while the ink is yet moist and complete 
the lower curve. The space enclosed by the lower curve 
should be somewhat larger than that in the upper one. 
The curve of the " D " should be parallel with the down- 
stroke in its middle third, but it may sometimes be ad- 
visable to make the lower part of the " D " a shade wider 
than the upper part. The first and second strokes of the 
" R " are identical with the letter "P." 

The "C," Fig. 17, is formed with one stroke, nearly 
completing the ellipse of the letter " O," though this let- 



ifj id '0)^ 



w& 



w 



ter should be proportionately narrower than the lower 
case " c." In making the " G," a somewhat wider ellipse 
is required, and this letter is most easily made with two 
strokes ; the second horizontal stroke should be about 

one-half of the 
total width of 
the ellipse. 
Fig. 17. The capital 

" O " should be an almost perfect ellipse, special care being 
taken in joining the two curves. The third stroke of the 
" O " should begin about the middle of the second space, 
and extend one space below the base. The letter " S " 
can be formed, for small-sized lettering, in two strokes, 
or with an additional stroke, as shown, for larger letters. 



Numerals. 



As a rule, numerals should occupy the same height 

as capital letters, 
or five spaces. 




though the use of 



Fig. 18. fractions may 

slightly modify this rule. When the numeral "i," Fig. 18, 



is used in proximity with " I " or "1," it is well to use a 
short up-stroke at the top ; otherwise, it ma)- be repre- 
sented by a simple down-stroke. The "4" is commenced 
with the stroke inclined at an angle of 45°, terminating 
at the second space from bottom and then turning sharply 
into the horizontal. The down-stroke should intersect 



11 




the horizontal in such manner as to leave about 3-5 of the 
horizontal to the left of the down-stroke. The "7 " is best 
formed with one stroke, the down-stroke being on an 
angle of 45°. The " 3 " should be drawn in one stroke, 
beginning as with the " 7 " to a point a little below the top 
of the third space, and then curving into a portion of an 
ellipse, with an axial angle of 46°. Another type of the 
numeral " 3 " is shown, 
which can be made in one 
stroke also. 

The "o" Fig. 19, Fig. 19. 

ought to be a perfect ellipse, like the capital " O." The 
" 5 " is commenced with the down-stroke, ending in the 
ellipse of the " 3 " and the horizontal upper stroke. The 
" 2 " can be constructed by one stroke, beginning at the 
top of the fourth space, nearly completing an oval with 
an axial angle of 40°, and then turning shortly into a 
down-stroke running into the base line, where a sharp 

turn is made in a horizontal 
direction. The " 6," Fig. 20, 
is commenced like the "o," 
Fig. 20. except that its initial point is 

somewhat beyond the axis of the ellipse. For that rea- 



^S' "j^'' "M 



son the first stroke is very short, curving to the right ; 
the second stroke descends nearly to the base, where a stop 
is made, and the pen then returns in the same stroke, 
and, gradually turning to the right, nearly completes an 
ellipse with an axial angle of 45°, joining its lower part 
with the bottom of the incomplete second stroke. The 
figure "8" is commenced with an ogee curve, using a 
slight crook at its lower end, and is finished by two other 
curves, as shown. The lower loop should always be 
somewhat larger than the upper one. The numeral " 9 " 
is made in two strokes. The ellipse at the top is nearly 
finished in one stroke when the down-stroke is assumed, 
which, beginning at the initial point of the ellipse and 
completing the latter, terminates with a somewhat fuller 
curve the'n that employed in lower case '^ g." 

Though Roman numerals are seldom employed 
on working drawings, they may sometimes be re- 
quired. The chief requisite is to so form them that 
they are neat in ap- 
and 



pearance 



easily 
distinguished from the 



Fig. 21. 



rest of the text. They should be of the same height 
as the Arabic numerals, and short horizontal strokes 



12 



should be used with them, as indicated in Fig. 21. 
In the modified forms shown in Fig. 22 it will be 
noticed that all the letters and numerals are based upon 
the general form of the letter " o," modified to suit de- 
mands. The second stroke of the ■ 

" r '■ is really a part of the elemen- 
tary ellipse, as are also the second 
stroke of the " n " and the second 
and third strokes of the "m." The 
•' u " is here made in two strokes — 
the first, a down-stroke with the curve attached, and the 




second a straight down-stroke, tanyent to and touchine 
the curve. 

The numerals follow similar lines of construction. 
The '■ 2 " begins at the upper part in an ellipse and ends 
in a down-stroke, laid at an angle of 45^, turning sharply 
to the right in a horizontal line. The "3" is formed 
with one stroke, with its lower curve, as also that of the 
" 5 " and '• 6," encircling somewhat more than half of the 
ellipse. In the " 6 " and '• 9 " care must be taken to have 
the curved down -strokes only tangent to the respective 
ellipses, and not cutting off a portion of the latter. 



UPRIGHT LETTERING. 



Upright lettering is employed most advantageously 
for reference letters, designating lines of section, and 
for captions. In some instances however, it may be 
deemed advisable to use uprights also for such descrip- 
tive matter, dimensions, etc., to which some prominence 



is to be oriven, thouofh, as a rule, the slanting letterine 
will answer this purpose very well. 

The relative height of the letters ought to remain 
the same as that of the inclined letterin"-. The down- 
strokes should be perfectly vertical, and in order to pro- 



13 



duce this effect properly, it will be best for the beginner 
to form the habit of making the letters at first lean over 
somewhat to the left at the top, as the natural tendency 
would be to have them lean the opposite way. It will 
be noticed that in some of the uprights a comparatively 
greater number of strokes is required, as many portions of 



these letters are being executed in a horizontal direction 
or nearly so. The letters are again simplified as much 
as possible, a fact which will be especially notice- 
able in the lower case "a" and " e." which, thoug-h 
at variance with the ordinary gothic print, look fully 
as well. 



Lower Case Letters. 



In the letters shown in Fig. 23, the same number 
of strokes is employed as in the slanting lettering pre- 
viously described. The letters are as a rule made wider 
than those of the slanting type. The second stroke of 
the " n" and the two last strokes of the letter "m" are 
started with a very slight curve in an upward direction 
rounding off the corner at the top, making it somewhat 
more full than in the corresponding slanting letters. 

The letter "u" 
is made in three 
strokes as usual, 



S 



^ 



^E 



I tI4 



A ^ — \m 



Fig. 23. connecting the 

two down-strokes with a well shaped curve. If preferred, 
however, the ordinary form of gothic lower case "u," as 



shown, may also be employed. In constructing the 
letter " v," the two slanting strokes ought to make the 
same angle with the vertical. The beginner will in- 
variably construct the second stroke at a greater incline 
than the first, and will do well to guard against this 
habit, until after some practice the hand will become 
accustomed to form the point of juncture of the two 
strokes equidistant from their starting point. The letter 
" w " is composed practically of two somewhat narrowed 
" V "s. 

The letter "1" (Fig. 24) is sometimes constructed 
with a lower crook to the right, when used at the side of 
capital letter " I," otherwise it is made as a down-stroke 
pure and simple. The second stroke of the " r " starts 



14 



i 



from the top of the second space upwards as a very 
sHght curve, similar to the one forming- first part of the 
second stroke of letter " n.'' Letter "f " is best formed 
b}' three strokes ; the first a ver)- short curve to the 
right, being joined by the second or main stroke. The 

horizontal third 

1) t(|1r(r) Ulflhlhjid)^ ^ stroke should be 



Fig. 24. 



made sufiicient- 
1)- prominent. 
The letter "j" ought to extend two spaces below the 
base line and should be made in one stroke, being 
perfectly straight until the point of cur\'e is reached. If 
found easier, however, a second right hand stroke, form- 
ing the curved portion, may be employed. The latter 
should be almost a semicircle and one space high. 

The second stroke 
of letter "k " (Fig. 2 5) 
should extend down to 
nearly the first space. 
The third stroke be- ^'g- 25- 

gins at about the centre of the second one. The letter 
" X " is constructed with two strokes, making the first 
one apparently more inclined than necessary for reasons 




1 iii .j I 11 



explained above. When the pen is very full^ the second 
stroke may be made in two parts, as shown, thereby 
preventing the forming of a clot of ink at the intersection 
of those two strokes. The upper part of letter " }■ " 
forms a perfect •' v.'' The second stroke may either be 
executed with a slio^ht angfle terminatins;- in a vertical 
direction, or in a perfectly straight inclined line, according 
to the draftsman's individual taste. Letter •■ z " is as 
usual formed in one stroke ; its starting point should 
be vertically above the point of turning into the horizontal. 
The ellipses of the letter shown in Fig. 26, are as 
usual constructed in two strokes, joining the respective 
initial and terminal , 

points carefully. The ~0 jO J U (U U ) U (.ci ] QJ^ 

first curve starts in an .V> , ^ JAi T 

almost horizontal di- : 

rection towards the "^'S" 

left and terminates similarly at the right, thus prevent- 
ing the forming of a point at the top and bottom 
junctures. The second (right hand) stroke of the ellipse 
ought to be made apparently more curved than necessar}-, 
as that portion is invariably made too flat by the beginner. 
The eUipses should be made quite full. The vertical 



15 



down-strokes of letters " a," " d " and " e '' oueht to run 
tangent to their ellipses so that the thickness of the 
second curve at the joint of juncture is not increased. 
The curved portion or the fourth stroke of letter "g" 
extends to the left almost or nearly the full width of the 
oval of this letter. 

The mode of construction of letters " q," " p " and " b " 
(Fig. 27) offers no novel features. If the pen, while 
rounding in the lower part 
of the curve of letters " p " 
and •• b," should contain too 
much ink, the curve may be 
completed by a third stroke, "^'S- ^7- 

running in an opposite direction, as shown, as in turning 
into the lower portion of the curve a somewhat greater 
pressure is involuntarily brought upon the pen, .'resulting 
if too full, in a badly proportioned lower end. 



q (q) |:>fp-p] b(bb ) 



K^\, ip) iicT^^np)^ 



Letters " c '' and " s " (Fig. 28) are started with a short 
curve towards the right ; the upper end of letter " c " 
should be slightly more curved than the lower one ; still, 
the form of the perfect oval should be predominant in this 
letter. The letter "e" is constructed in three strokes. 
If, as is sometimes the case, the upper part of letters " c " 
and " e " should not precisely fill the allotted space, or 
otherwise they should appear too narrow, a slight flat- 
tening of the lower __ 

portions of the curve, 

making those letters 

appear leaning back- Fig. 28 

ward^ will help matters and otherwise not at all injure 

their appearance, as shown. The completed ovals of 

letter " s " should, as in the inclined one, form a perfect 

figure "8.'' If at all uneven, the lower oval should be 

made more prominent than the upper one. 



Capital Letters. 



Upright capitals are, as a rule, 5 spaces high, with the should be made narrower in proportion than the cor- 
exception of the " O," the appendix of which ought to responding lower case letters, 
reach one space below the base line. These letters The second stroke of letter "A" (Fig. 29), should 

16 




be made rather more inclined than the first one by 
the beginner. The first strokes of letters " E " and 
" F " must be made perfectly vertical or leaning back- 
wards, as even the sliehtest inclination forward in these 
two letters will be painfully noticeable, especially in the 
" F." The length of the short third stroke in the " F," 
is generally depending on the shape of the succeeding 

(lower case) letter ; 
shorter, if the latter 
beo-ins with a verti- 
Fig. 29. cal stroke, longer, 

if an oval or inclined stroke if to follow. We will not 
attempt, however, to lay down any definite rule on this 
point, as the determining factor in each case should be 
the draftsman's eve and good taste. Letter " Z " is 
best formed in one stroke, care being taken to make 
especially the inclined portion perfectly straight. 

The letters comprising Fig. 30 are constructed upon 
nearly the same 



principles given in 
the case ot the cor- 
responding slantmg 
capital letters 




Fig. 30. 
The termination of the last stroke of 



letter " K " should in a well formed letter be vertically 
below the initial point of the second stroke. The length of 
the horizontal portion of the " L" is again, as in the case 
of the '• F," determined by the succeeding (lower case) 
letter. It is obvious, that by undulv lenothenine that 
portion of the letter, an unproportionally wide space will 
result between its vertical part and the succeeding letter. 
The curved part of letter "J " (Fig. 31) ought to be a 
well shaped semicircle, beginning and ending not above 
the middle of the second space. The second and third 
strokes of letter " M " converge at the second line, and 
this point should, of course, be at an even distance from the 
vertical strokes. 



1T^,) M(Mi KLIN) TIT) 



ill : W I ' "^f 

-yj- M ^ ' S; 



To attain this end 

exactl}' some 

draftsmen will per- Fig. 31. 

haps find it easier to put in the two verticals first and the 

oblique strokes afterwards, as in the construction of the 

letter " N." The angles in those two letters should be 

sharply defined, the strokes forming them ending in a 

clearly cut, though somewhat blunt point. The second 

horizontal stroke of letter >• T " ought to be evenly 

balanced upon the main or down-stroke. 



17 





The construction of the letters shown in Fig. 32 is 
chiefly guided by the principle that the rate of inclina- 
tion of the slanting- strokes should be uniform in each 

letter. In the case of 
the "V" and "W" 
care should be taken 
pj„_ 32. that only the center 

lines of the inclined strokes join at the base or top 
lines of the ruling, thus avoiding two extremes, either 
the formation of a vertical short end or the reverse, a 
flattened-out point. This is made apparent in the 
small illustration, F"ig. 32^. The 
first and fourth strokes of letter 




" W " oueht theoretically to be made imormct 



parallel to the second and third; p|g 32^^ 

but as the latter two strokes are involuntarily made 
more upright than the first one, the fourth stroke should 
again be made more slanting to correspond with the first. 
The reverse mode of procedure would result in a badh" 
shaped letter, as shown in brackets. Letter " X " is 
usually made in two strokes, or, if preferable, a stop may 
be made in the second stroke shortly before crossing the 
first, continuing it on the other side, avoiding thus the 



forming of a lump of ink at the point of intersection. 
The two inclined parts of letter " Y " should join on the 
top of the second space ; from there the second stroke 
is continued in a vertical direction down to the base line. 
Letter "P" (Fig. 33) is constructed in two strokes, 
the second one beginning at the top of the first, care- 
luUy round- -- 



^^ 






2a±: 



^ 



ingthe curve 
and joining 
the first Fig. 33. 

stroke again at right angles as a perfectly straight 
line. The third stroke of letter "B" besfins at the 
point of curve of the second, enclosing a slightly 
larger area than the second one. The second stroke 
of letter "D" should begfin and terminate in a hori- 
zontal direction. If a slight "sagging" should happen 
in the curve, it ought to be near its lower portion. 
The rule o-iven for the forminof of the second stroke of 
letter " B " applies also to letter " R;" its third inclined 
stroke begins at the point of curve of the second. 
The two vertical strokes of letter " U " are made first ; 
a rig-ht hand carefulU' formed semi-circular curve con- 
nects the two. 



18 



Letter " C" (Fig. 34) is made with two strokes, and is 
simply a repetition of the lower case letter^ relatively 
narrower. The second stroke of letter '•' G " follows the 
outline of the 

ellip" up. ^:;±;itfcae!lT) ( )((.))(.J((.|)) '^^ 

Iv a space ; ^'^ "^ 

/u u ,- Fig. 34 

there a short 

stop is made and the pen point is carefully pushed up- 
wards in a vertical direction, terminatingf that stroke as 
shown. The final horizontal stroke should not be made 
too short. To those who might find it difficult to exe- 



cute the second stroke neatly in the way outlined the 
suggestion of a separate vertical downward stroke is 
made. The mode of construction of the ellipses of the 
"O " and " O " differ somewhat from that of the lower 
case letters ; the point of juncture is shifted diagonally in 
order to lessen the chance of a point forming at the top 
and bottom of the oval. The third stroke of letter 
■ O ' begins as shown, and extends one space below. 
The second stroke of letter " S ' should for a very short 
space run perfectly horizontal. The rules given for the 
forming of the lower case letter otherwise apply to this 
letter also. 



N 



umerals. 



Upright numerals ought to be like the inclined ones, 
five spaces high. Figure " i " may again, if used in 
proximity v.ith 
capital letter "F' 



or lower case 
"1,"' be con- 




Fig. 35. 

structed with a very short upstroke. Numeral " 4 " is 
started with a perfectly straight inclined downstroke, as 



shown, Avhence it assumes a horizontal direction. The rule 
given above and illustrated bv Fig. ■:,2a on the formine of 
a clear cut angle, applies to the top part of this figure espec- 
ially. The lower terminal point of numeral " 7 " should, 
in a perfectly formed figure, be vertically below the center 
of the horizontal portion. The upper part of numeral "2" 
ought to form portion of a flattened oval. The mode of 
its construction is clearlv shown in the illustration, Fie- ^5. 



19 



Numeral " 5 " (Fig. 36) begins with a vertical stroke 
to nearly the middle of the third space ; from there 
the stroke follows the outline of the ellipse, which is to 
be three spaces high. The middle portion of the second 
stroke of numeral "6" ought to follow the vertical 
direction a short 
distance, as the 
tendency 



^^^^^^g 



general 

in constructing this 



Fig. 36. 

figure is to have that part too much curved. The third 
stroke ought to enclose a perfect ellipse. Numeral " 8 " 
is formed in three strokes ; its first a Avell-shaped ogee 
curve, with its middle portion running very nearly 
horizontal. The first stroke of numeral " 9 " ought to 



be part of a perfect ellipse and comprising as it does, 
nearly two-thirds of its circumference, is somewhat 
difficult to construct. The middle portion of the second 
stroke should for a short distance, run almost vertical. 
The Upright 



Roman num- 
erals. Fig. 37, Fig. 37. 
are constructed, analogous to the inclined ones, with 
upper and lower short horizontal strokes. After explain- 
ing the mode of forming of capital letters " V " and " X," 
nothing new can be said concerning these, except that 
as a general rule it will be well to make them a trifle 
narrower in proportion. 



Extended Form of Upright Lettering. 



In the following illustration. Fig. 38, the upright letter- 
ing is shown in extended form. It will be noticed that 
for the construction of some of those letters a compara- 
tively greater number of strokes is required. The axes 
of the ellipses lie in a horizontal direction in every case, 
and it will be well to shape parts of the curves, composing 



them, decidedly flat, sometimes going to the extreme to 
have the top and bottom parts of the ellipses running 
perfectly straight for a certain distance. 

The complete alphabets of the slanting and upright 
type are shown in plate I., together with samples of 
lettering as used on working drawings. The single 



20 



letters, composing a word, should, especially in slanting Sufficient space should be allotted between different 

lettering, be placed as close as possible, so close, in fact, words. Of all the theories set forth upon the spacing 









Fig. 38. 



that they sometimes nearly touch each other. If this 
principle is followed out at first, the golden middle gov- 
erning the spacing of letters will soon prevail. The 
beginner generally spaces his letters too far apart. 



of lettering the writer has found that no one really 
'• works ' in practice ; therefore he would advise the 
draftsman to depend solely upon his eye in determining 
the proper space; The spacing of a word for instance. 



•21 



should be so arranged that, when the drawing is held at 
some distance, or is looked at with half closed eyes, 

no unusually large Qj^y STANDARD. 

white space appears 

between letters, as 

shown for example ONLY STANDARD. 

in Fig. 39a, which, 

an actual specimen 

of printed type, demonstrates the fallacy of one of 



(Corrected.) 

Fig. 39. 



the theories upon spacing, and should appear corrected 
as in Fig. T,gd, showing, as it were, a more even tone 
of coloring. 

•In expressing fractions, the accepted custom is to place 
a horizontal dash between numerator and denominator, 
excepting the instance when numeral " 4 " happen to be 
the latter, in which case, for obvious reasons, a slanting 
dash is employed. The several lines of lettering compos- 
ing a sentence, for instance, should be placed rather close. 



k -/5| ->k-/?f >K/%' ■X--/£'|-5i 
— ifSir-jn;-:';! — iwsi — vii 



Freehand Lettering applied to Working Drawings. 

Lettering as applied to working drawings, should be side, and a dotted reference line with arrow head point- 
bold, clear and uniform in size, with 
the exception of the sub-captions, which 
may be a trifle larger. Diminutive and 
cramped lettering on a drawing will 
never look well. If possible, the letter- 
ing should be kept distinctly by itself and 
never be allowed to run across lines. 
If some words can not be put on the ob- 
ject itself, which they are intended to des- 
cribe, they should be boldly placed out- 




22 



ing to the subject attached, as shown especially in Figs. 
40, 41 and 42. The lettering should be placed so as to 
read from the base 
and rig^ht hand side 
of the sheet, that 
is to say, lettering 



runninof at an ano-le 
of 90° to the base 
line should be made 
to read from the 
right and side, if 
at a greater angle, 
its base should be 
reversed in such a 
way that it can be 
read from the lower 
left hand corner; if 
the angle be small- 
er, one should then 
be enabled to read 
it from the lower 




dimension lines, aha an appropriate space left open 
while drawing those. If the space allotted for a dimen- 
sion is too small 




Material for Reenfymfiq Bottom CtiorJ: 
Reenf.Pt. 24*^"-f e'^^ouTi-abotv chorzt. 
" " 7Z"r '^■tR'OTrerttoWeb. 
" " 72''^rxd^g^"in5Jcie. 
Oi/t3^5Tiltsners,l2L^,i-x5"'r-"' 3V0f" 

<• F/Hea,6,Si"xti-x2'll%" ' 
Diaptjraam^fin!-} ■hPlJi'tti/ck 

•I. ' .. IZL',-P''i~'i", 

Bearing P/.onBa/t: 3f WV^' <?" 

MatEr/a/ior L ong J strt touting 0/rder, e/cti/sr. -= 

Wet>ianctf^/anqe^; , ,, 

EnaCotin: BentFl^e, S'ie's'xi V 4 94 

'• " Fillers, 6, 65"»-|'V3'9- 
itilteners.BLl ril--fi''x-i''3'4' 

n ,41^ .< " •? Xt'll" 

Fillers,S,4'xi'nX9" „■,., , ,„ 
StifemrsJi^Jiyfi^ x5^'4\ 
" , Vz' .f „ ,, KS-ef- 
Fillers. 8,8"'i"^4'4-li" , „ 

Bearirrt^PI, 23'xl"x5'2" 



■20"->, 



FloorTroijqrK\, 
Verr.P/flsUr^? 
TopiBotty/fi^ 



Mas' 



\y_ 

~^ '^-TopofDrvm 



Fig. 41. 



right hand corner, as Fig. 44 demonstrates. 

Dimensions should be placed between, not on top of 



to place the same 
comfc^rtably be- 
tween arrow heads, 
the figures should 
be written outside, 
parallel to dimen- 
sion line, and refer- 
ence line used. 
Arrow heads 
should be bold, 
with even sides, 
the two strokes 
composing them 
tapering in thick- 
ness from the point; 
" lop sided " ones 
should be avoided. 
The length of 
the arrow heads depends upon the size of the dimension 
numerals, which are to go between them ; at any rate. 



T 






L k 



Cross Section, 



Details of Long Raising Girder 
and Truss Connection. 



23 




the numerals themselves should stand out free and not 
touch the former. Where the space does not permit 
this, the reversed arrow lieads may be used, so as to 
leave a clear space between them, as shown for instance 
at left of Fig. 40, in second row of dimensions from 
below. In the same figure the relative size of upright 



ence letters. Similar prominence may be given, for 
instance, to portions of a building, as shown in plate 
IX, on plan of station building. Notes referring to 
drawings should run parallel to base of sheet and be 
used as " fillers." 

In Fig. 43 and Plate II. lettering as used on sketch 



spi.Pi.io'if" 




Connection 4'vi- 'r^^AVOaslsiPI'toieiironBollpm 



ofCrosstirderb."''^ <—■ 5'b' 



122 'lOii.' over all (Back ta Back of End Stiff. L^.) 



Fig. 42. 



lettering, as used for captions and sub-captions is shown. 
In Fig. 44 upright lettering is also employed to denote 
the strains for the different bridge members, in order to 
have same appear distinctly different from ordinary 
dimensions or descriptive matter. The pin points, as 
slyjwn, are also made prominent by using upright refer- 



maps is shown. Here four distinctive styles composed 
of the two alphabets above described, are employed. 
The writer recommends in such a case, to have the 
physical features of a map, such as creeks, rivers, lakes, 
mountains, bays, inlets, denoted by " all cap " slanting 
letters ; proposed engineering works in " caps and lower 



24 



case " of the same type ; villages, railway lines, stations 
in " cap and lower case " upright lettering; finally, coun- 
ties, townships or cities in " all caps," upright. These 
rules are all, of course, subject to more or less modifi- 
cation, as occasionally contour Hnes, soundings, etc., may 
also be designated 
in small upright 
numerals. Plate 
II. illustrates the 
above said very 
well. Letters re- 
lating to rivers and 
railway lines should 
be placed parallel 
to those objects. 
Otherwise lettering 
in straight lines is 







Fig. 43. 



The use of the four distinct types of lettering will at 

once allow an easier reading of the profile. A good 

example of this kind is given in Fig. 45. 

The arrangement of margin figures here will permit 

the approximate elevation of any desired point easily to 

be ascertained by 
laying a rule across 
the vertical scales, 
its upper edge 
touching the point 
in question. In 
Fig. 46, the gen- 
eral style of letter- 
ins^ ^ diacfram is 
shown. Ihe mar- 
o-in figures acrain 
are uprights, set 



3 Miles. 



0.T*'' 



resorted to. If this should, however, be impracticable, 
lettering on neat curves is used. 

Profiles of railway lines, etc., may be treated in a simi- 
lar manner; the margin figures denoting vertical and 
horizontal scales, should, however, be placed in uprights 
and be written outside, not upon the lines of the scale. 



opposite, not upon the lines, which they are to designate. 
The lettering of the curves, being of a descriptive char- 
acter, is done in the slanting type. Since this lettering 
has to run across the ordinates and abscissae of the 
diao-ram, ereat care has to be exercised to keep same 
open and clear, avoiding especially, fiUed-in corners. 



25 



Examples of simple and also slightly more elaborate 
meridians and scales are oriven on Plate IX. All of the 
former are easy to construct and will look neat on any 
well finished map. The lower two scales are best 
adapted for map work, although the upper one, in 



tended for ordinary working drawings, can also very 
well be used for that purpose. In constructing the 
simpler type of scales it is advisable to employ four 
different heights of graduation lines, a method which 
will materially increase its clearness. 



VARIOUS FREEHAND ALPHABETS. 



The principles of construction of the shaded inclined 
(italic) lettering, shown on Plate III., which is occasion- 
ally used on working drawings and maps, are practically 
the same as given for the ordinary slanting lettering. 
The relative height of letters and inclination of down- 
stroke remain unchanged. A fairly fine pointed, rather 
flexible pen should be used, for instance, Gillott's No. 
303 or No. 290 (Gillott's lithographic pen). The lower 
case letters are very much like common EngHsh shaded 
script. The shading is produced by an even pressure 
exerted upon the pen, which in turning into curves, is 
gradually released at the proper moment. In shading 
letters "S" and numerals "2," "7" and "8" the pen 
has to outline and shade the curves at the same time, 
necessitating a slight turning motion of the holder, to 



the beginner a somewhat delicate operation at first. It 
will be noticed, that every second row in the upper portion 
of this plate is devoted to demonstrating the proper 
method of forming each letter and the sequence of 
strokes. Italic lettering, in order to look well, requires 
a considerably wider spacing than the ordinary slanting 
lettering, the hair line vipstrokes in most of the lower 
case letters adding to their width. After all that has 
been said about slanting lettering in general, no trouble 
will be experienced in constructing these letters satis- 
factorily. 

When reduced considerably, italic lettering, as a rule, 
does not show up so well as the same size of the ordi- 
nary slanting type described before, the light lines in that 
case dropping out, leaving only the shaded portions visible. 



26 



The type of lettering shown in lower part of Plate III. 
is in fact only a modification of the ordinary upright 
freehand lettering, and used as a part of title looks 
very well when used with the black faced Gothic letter- 
ing, shown on Plate \'. As is known to every drafts- 
man, a lump of ink is apt to form at the end of a straight 
stroke, when the pen is fairly full. This propensity of 



number of strokes remains the same, as with the ordinary 
uprights. A few modifications are introduced in the 




Half Side Elevation . 
Fig. 44. 



the ink is made use of in constructing this type ot 
lettering and the flow of ink thus diverted. The relative 



shape of lower case •■a" and " g.'" This lettering is 
best produced with a ball point pen, insuring a stroke 



of almost uniform strength. As a precaution, it may be 
said that the pen should never be too full while making 
this type of lettering. 




taken as 4-5^ in some cases 7-8, that of the lower case 
letters as 3-5 the width of a square. On Plates IV. 
and V. suggestions are made as to several methods 
of shading these letters although, as a 
rule, they look very Avell without it. 
When this kind of lettering is desired to 
be of medium or small size, it can neatly 
and expeditiously be constructed in the 



3000 



500O 



4000 

Fig. 45. 
Plates IV. to VII. inclusive, contain Freehand Letter- 
ing suitable for main titles, which may easily be con- 
structed by dividing the space to be lettered into squares 
and sketchins: in the letters in outline afterwards as 
shown ; on tracing linen, cross-section paper may of 
course be used for this purpose. A draftsman able to 
satisfactorily construct the upright lettering, the principles 
of which have been exhaustively explained in the fore- 
going, will experience no trouble whatever in sketching 
these letters in good shape. As shown, the relative 
height of lower case and capital letters remain un- 



eooo 



way shown by 
Fig. 47(3;: Throw 
in the stems of 
the letters with 
a broad nibbed 
pen, insuring a 
bold stroke anal- 
ogous to '' ordi- 
nary " upright 
lettering, with 
the exception of 



. — _ ^ 

CO a: z 

Dollars. 

100 50 5 



80 40 4 



60 30 3 



40 20 E 



20 10 I 



























































































































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?5- 
























































' 






























11 






























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r 


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(1 








1 




















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1 


























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— s 




I 
































^ 




























k 


A 


^^ 










































\ 




4W 








k'' 
















S 


>— f 




u 


<i 


5-' 






















^ 




?, 


10 


































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'■• 


/7 W 


,.in( 


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7/ 


t. 






















■ 


li 




f 






















n >^" 


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/ 




























- 































dJQj 
CD C 

CO a 
Doll 
20 



?.80 

-50. 
■2150 









MM 












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f 










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H) 




npt. 


... 










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rss-^^s^fe.*^ 



2:<s^^<a5ozo-%iii;s<s:-^-5 






EubU^ws 1879. 1880. 1895, 

Metdl Prices 1879, I880.and 1895. 

Fig. 46. 



changed; the width of the body of the capital may be the horizontal strokes, which, together with the tops and 



28 



bottoms of the letters, rule in, and fill in the corners 
freehand, as shown enlarged in Fig. 47^, As is well 
known, short horizontal strokes are somewhat difficult to 
draw freehand; therefore this method is certainly prefer- 
able to that of turning the paper, so as to permit of the 

horizontal lines being drawn 
freehand towards the drafts- 
mans. If as the case may be, 
the draftsman should desire 
more ornamental letters, he 
will be able by the aid of his 
eye and the exercise of some 
good taste, to devolve the 
letters desired out of the types 
given. It should, however, be 
a title, composed of highly 
ornamented letters, does not make up for any 
poorly drawn and lettered sheet to which it may 
be attached, but on the other hand, a simple title, 
constructed of Avell executed letters of reasonable size, 
with the several lines composing it, well centered, 
will make an ample heading for any well executed 
drawing-. 



(OnginalJ WAYNE 

(Spurred Oafhic.) AA/7VYTS[p' 

(Plain Oothh.j XA/AVW P 
Fig. 47^. 

WW 



Fic 



borne in 



475. 
mind, that 



The writer would not consider this work complete 
without giving passing notice to 

Round Writing, 

the principles of which are shown on Plate VIII. For 
the production of this kind of lettering regular round 
writing pens are used, although very satisfactory letter- 
ing of this type can be produced with goose-quills cut 
bv the draftsman, and the writer even yet prefers the 
latter. 

In Fig. 48 an actual fac-simile of a title once met with, 
is exhibited. It explains in short how not to do it, 

and shows the 
draftsman's lack 
of practice in 
freehand work, 
while reU-ingr 
solely upon his 
skill with bow 
pen and ruling 
pen. 



NOoiQ 

OF 

EUREKA DRIERS 



LONGITUDINAL SECTION 

Fig 48. 



29 



LETTERING FOR PHOTO-REPRODUCTION. 



The lettering and drawing for reduction purposes 
may be made on any quality of drawing paper, tracing 
linen or paper. Yellowish tinted papers however, will 
as a rule not give as good results as the pure white or 
blueish ones. In order to insure good, unbroken lines 
on tracing" cloth the writer would recommend the thor- 
ough rubbing of the surface with pumice powder. The 
other materials mentioned, of course require no special 
preparation. Erasures on tracing cloth are also best 
made with the same agent; the powder is sprinkled upon 
the part to be erased, and a little brisk rubbing with the 
end of the finger or a hard rubber, while replacing the 
discolored pumice with fresh power, will thoroughly 
clean the affected surface, which may be lettered over 
again without danger of the ink spreading. Where, 
however, erasures have otherwise been made, Chinese 
white may be applied with a soft brush over the dis- 
colored parts. Letters and lines must be made perfect- 
ly black; if very fine lines are used on a drawing, they 



will still reproduce at considerable reduction, provided 
each is formed by a solid ridge of ink. 

A good standard to adopt for lettering for reproduc- 
tion is to have the smaller lower case letters, such as 
"a," " e," etc., reduce to not less than i millimeter 
(slightly more than -gV in.) in height ; therefore, if a 
drawing is to be reduced three-fourths, (i. e., to one- 
fourth its original length) make those letters 4 times 
^ . . that height 

'Freehand Letten'ng' or ^mm^^- 

(about 



t 



Fig. 49a. 



-> 



OKIGINAI, POK THEEE-FOURTHS KEDTJCTION. 



ters 

-h in.) high, 
with the 
strength of 
body in pro- 
portion; the height of the capitals and numerals must be 
in accordance. A drawinof to be reduced to one-half 
size (one-half its length) has to contain lettering just 
twice the standard criven above. The lettering- on draw- 



30 



Fig. 496. 



OKIGIXAl FOE EEPKODrCTIOS BETWIIEX 
ONTU TTAT'F AXD TWO-THIEDS 






ino-s to be reduced to a size about hallways between 
three-fourths and two-thirds reduction, should be made 

2 i millimeters (about A in.) -Freehand Leffering' 

high, minimum size. All the 

foregoing is sufficiently made t^ —(Ma^. Akryij. ■ 

clear bv the illustrations, Fig-. 

49<2, b, and c. 

The two illustrations shown on Plate IX. (details of 
rail-joint and section of reservoir) have been reproducted 
from originals five and 
four times their re- 
spective sizes. Al- 
though the draftsman 
is supposed to know 
the exact rate of 
reduction, the direc- 
tions to the engravers 
are better o-iven in 
inches or fractions 
thereof. placed in '^" "' 

pencil underneath; they are for our purposes repro- 
duced on Fig. 49, a and ^,but would of course not be 
reproduced by the engraver ordinarily. 







'lit tk-tovi, \:W\.!.t- 



1891 






%^ 



A drawing should never be reduced at a lesser rate 

than to three-fifths of its origtnal length. What may be 

called a good average -Freet,ar.d La-.zrirg. reduction is 

the two-thirds (i. e., to r-- one-third its 

' h ig. 49e. 

length). When the eepkodfctiox fkom condensed 

H'l' Hh'K OF THE 

type of lettering is used abote oEiGrxALs. on drawings 
for reduction purposes a proper safeguard to adopt is 
to exaggerate somewhat the width of ovals or small 
loops, such as for instance of the letter " e," to guard 



agamst 



the " fillino- 



\ Thid<-: 



Nate:- The Top of Cop will 
be slighiiy oval, and ihe On- 
■ttxjt squarSj tn'angle, and 
: ~ 3 will be raised about 
~_ ?b;ye il^e lettering. 



in " of those parts. 
A close stud}- of the 
three types of letter- 
insf orivenon Fiofure i 



of this work, which 

tend to illustrate the 

same principle, will 

also be useful. The 

reason for orivinor a 

limit of reduction (i.e., 

one millimeter height for smaller lower case letters) and 

the employment of gothic letters of uniform strength, is 

made evident by referring to the illustrations, Fig. boa. 




Section of 
Cast Iron Cap 



506. 



31 



which presents an example of engraving, such as is 
sometimes indulged in, and Fig. Sob, redrawn and 
reduced to same scale. 

The strength of the lines of a drawing to be repro- 
duced depends of course altogether upon the rate of 
reduction. For larger reductions it will be quite essen- 
tial to show as much of a white space between lines as 
possible, for instance such as designate the thickness of 
flange of an I-beam in elevation. The work should in 
all cases be clear and open, and this detail, immaterial as 
it may appear, not be overlooked. 

The processes of photo-reproduction ordinarily em- 



ployed are the photolithographic and zinc etching pro- 
cess. Both require a similar grade of preparation of the 
drawing. The writer uses on such drawing the water- 
proof ink, which is perhaps blacker than the ordinary 
kind and possesses more body. Any kind of black 
drawing ink, however, is suitable for the purpose ; well 
rubbed stick India ink will permit of very fine, black 
lines. The main objection to the use of ordinary inks, 
however, is their liability of blurring, when handled, 
or the ink mixing with the Chinese white, render- 
ing the application of this color sometimes very 
difficult. 



32 



abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.; I 2345 d 7 89 10. I894-. 
ABCDEF0HIJKLMN0PQR5TUVWXYZ. Ordinary Type. 
niNYVI W mm. Details of Cross Framing. CROSS SECTION OF GIRDER. 
Extended Le-ftering. LON CjITU D I NAL. SECTION. 8.. 
Compressed Type. INTEf^STATE BHIDbE. 5purWkeU2''l)iam.Frace,3pirch,32Teefh,5.2ffey'sWl^^^^^ 

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz. 12345578910. 15|"-, ^"° %■ 
ABCDEFOHIJK LM N PQR5TU V WXYZ. IIMYVIYEVIIIIXX. 
Ordinary Lettering. IBeam. Eye Bar. 41^, 6x5"^^"= 85. 1^°" 2Webs,48"x^" 
Elxte-nolool . 95 Pi". Spoin. Elnc^ Vie^w, 
Compressed. I, ie"[,-lb5.peryd. NEW YORK CENTRAL. 2|". 5'7|'. TBolt, Outer Elevation. I 

Material for 1 Chord Section : 



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ItieentPL 24"xjl "^dd "outs, above Chord. 
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Spaang of Urns and also l^ode of 
Crowding in Praction Numerals. 
It will also be seen -that it becomes 
necessary to occasionally shorten a 
Capital or longer Lower Case Letter 
Occasional Brackets or Horizontal 
Dashes are best made Free Hand-, 
thelafferwithaslow, "wobbling" 
Stroke of the Pen . 



PLATE I. 




PLATE II. 



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Shaded Inclined (Itcdic) Lettering, Used for Workiruj Drawings. 

a bcdefg Viii klmnopqrstuvwxyz 
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